The Croydon-born boss went on to defend the controversial full-back, adding: "If you are an England fan and don't respect and love someone for what he's done, that's your problem," before insisting that supporters should give Cole the "credit and admiration he deserves."

The 65-year-old also described the left-back as the "most consistent player over last 10-12 years in our team [...] he deserves to celebrate that."

Hodgson went on to hail Cole's understudy, Everton star Leighton Baines, saying: "Ashley has greater competition than he's ever had ... certainly Leighton has matured enormously as an international player."